


the hockey player and the figure skater

by oswiniarty



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Additional Characters to be added, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Hockey, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Ambiguously bi Arthur, Disney Channel Original Movie - Freeform, F/M, M/M, Multi, and a 5+1 fic, and they were dmen! oh my god they were dmen, arthur is a sophomore, like a dcom, merlin is a freshman, pining!merlin, this accidentally turned into a lot of different things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-02 17:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13322559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oswiniarty/pseuds/oswiniarty
Summary: A sophomore at a boarding school, Arthur Pendragon is a hockey prodigy. His dad was a hockey legend, and is the entire reason that he's going to Avalon School for Exceptional Youth.Merlin Emrys is a young figure skating celebrity. However, his mom insisted that he take time off from competing to go to Avalon, because "every teenage boy should experience high school."Little do the pair know how interwoven their lives are already, and how much more they're about to become.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i had a dream and posted it on tumblr and then couldnt stop thinking about it, so here's this.

The puck hits the net of the goal with a second to spare, and the horn sounds. The Avalon Knights have just won the championship.

Bodies crush against the team’s captain, a senior,  ~~ (sir not appearing in this fic) ~~ and the Knights fans in the stands go crazy. It’s the first time they’d ever won a championship, though they’d always come close.

As the other team leaves the ice, the people on the stands flood the ice, congratulating their team in the only way they know: joining in on the celly.

The team holds up the shot-winner, a freshman, a hockey prodigy. Arthur Pendragon, son of a hockey legend, his father an alumni of Avalon School for Exceptional Youth.

* * *

Halfway across the country, a figure skater is finishing up the last notes of his performance at the last competition he’ll be at for the foreseeable future.

As the music fades out, he makes his final pose, breathing heavily for a few seconds before bowing and skating off the ice, picking up items thrown to him by fans. He steps off the ice, is handed a bouquet, and goes to sit in the kiss and cry for his score.

He gets the highest combined score for the competition, at 249.67, and is so close to breaking the American record, but doesn’t. To be fair, though, it’s a great score, and he’s not complaining about winning gold at his last competition.

He decides that when he returns to figure skating after high school, he’s going to beat the men’s record, and is fine with that.

“The final skater of the competition, Merlin Emrys, takes the gold with a combined score of 249.67. As he stated, this will be his last competition for the foreseeable future, since he’s going to take time off to experience high school at the prestigious boarding school, Avalon School for Exceptional Youth.”


	2. chapter one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> merlin and arthur meet. merlin falls on his ass. arthur has a shocking revelation. merlin meets his roommate.

“Hunith! It’s been such a long time,” a deep voice says, and Merlin and his mother turn towards it. Merlin sees a man with short, greying hair, and, next to him, a boy about his age, with blonde hair and a muscular frame. “Welcome to Avalon.”

“Uther, it’s always a pleasure,” his mother replies, stepping closer to the man, Uther, and giving him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

In the back of his mind, Merlin grimaces, not liking the sight of his mother embracing a stranger.

But Hunith pulls back quickly enough, and then turns back to her son, as if making sure he hasn’t run away. She gestures towards him. “Have I introduced you to my son, Merlin?”

“We haven’t been introduced, no. Welcome to Avalon, Merlin,” Uther replies, holding his hand out for the teen to shake.

Merlin shakes Uther’s hand because he was raised right, even though all he wants to do is go find the ice rink so he can destress.

Hunith turns from Merlin towards the blonde. “And who’s this?”

“This is Arthur, the newest captain of the hockey team. My only son,” Uther tells her, and Merlin turns to look at the other teen again.

He’s got his arms crossed, and is wearing a varsity jacket over his school-issued sportswear. Honestly, he looks like a bit of a brat. Well, more than a bit.

“Oh, my Merlin is a figure skater!” Hunith informs them, and Arthur’s face morphs from one of vague dislike to vague curiosity.

“Great! Arthur will show you to the rink, so that you can get familiar,” Uther orders him, and Arthur rolls his eyes.

“Father, I’m sure that Merlin would rather put all his stuff in his room,” Arthur says.

“Don’t worry about it, I can take your stuff up for you,” his mom tells him, and Merlin sighs.

“Fine,” he grumbles, handing his mother the bags he’d been carrying. He keeps his gym bag, though.

Arthur starts walking with no warning, and Merlin struggles to keep up with the older boy.

“Could you slow down?” He asks, annoyed.

“I thought you were a figure skater,” Arthur says, as his answer, “are you really having a hard time keeping up?”

God, Arthur was such a prat.

* * *

 The second they walk into the rink, Merlin is already moving to put on his skates, get himself familiar with the ice.

Arthur is all but forgotten about as he steps onto the ice, breath steadying as he pushes himself into a glide.

Without stopping, Merlin starts to warm up, swizzling his feet as he stretches his arms out. The rest of the world falls away, and then it’s just him, the ice, and the sound of his breathing.

He hadn’t quit skating over the summer, so he’s not rusty, but it had been a good two weeks since the last time he’d been on the ice. He pulls himself out of the swizzle, leaning down to touch his toes.

He’s in the middle of pushing himself into a jump when Arthur’s voice cuts through the empty building, muffled by the ice, but clear nonetheless.

“I don’t think this is what my dad meant when he told me to show you the rink.”

Merlin startles out of the jump, lands on his ass, and is two inches from smashing his face on the boards when he catches himself.

“Aren’t you a decorated figure skater?” Arthur asks, with a smug smile on his face. He’d clearly meant for that to happen.

Merlin frowns, but says nothing as he picks himself up, dusts himself off, and glides back to the gate.

Arthur checks his watch, and startles at the time. Merlin isn’t sure if it’s a fake expression or not.

“The Welcome Back dinner starts in half an hour. You better get ready.”

* * *

 When Arthur walks back into the grand hall, he’s surprised to see more people in the foyer in front of the stairs than there were last year.

And then he registers that the majority of the people are _girls_ , for god’s sake, and his brain short-circuits for a minute. His dad hadn’t told him about this.

A pretty black girl walks past him and gives him a smile, and all he can do is smile back, confused.

Going to talk to his dad this close to the welcome back dinner would be futile -- there’s no doubt that he’s in the middle of a staff meeting, and he’d been punished one too many times to know that barging in on a staff meeting would be a bad idea.

So he heads up to his room instead, and puts on his uniform, freshly pressed, and then puts his varsity jacket back on. The jacket is actually his favorite part of being on the hockey team -- it’s in the Knights’ colors of red and gold, the sleeves are leather, his name is on the back, and the front proudly proclaims his ‘C’, proof that he’s the captain of the Avalon Knights hockey team.

* * *

 Later, Arthur joins his team at their usual table in the dining hall. Leon gives him a look, as if trying to silently ask if he knows anything about their new population of girls.

He shrugs, and is about to say something, when the doors to the dining hall open, and in walks his father, flanked by the rest of the school’s professors.

The professors take their positions at the table in the very back in the room, and Uther Pendragon steps up to the podium.

* * *

 “Good evening, students of Avalon School for Exceptional Youth,” Uther starts. “Welcome back to school! To our new students, I hope you enjoy your time here at our school. To our returning students, I wish you well in this coming year.

“Our first, and most obvious, announcement this term is that Avalon is welcoming the girls of Mercia Girl’s School to our halls for the foreseeable future. Historically, Avalon has been an all-boys school, but the headmistress of Mercia and I have come to the decision that a merger between our two schools would benefit everyone, academically and culturally. So, over the next couple of years, the campuses of Mercia and Avalon will be merging.”

Uther scans the room, then takes a sip of his water. “Our second announcement is that we’d like to provide a warm welcome to Hunith and Merlin Emrys. Hunith is replacing Professor Atley as our English Studies professor, and her son, Merlin, is a well-decorated figure skater.”

In unison, Merlin and his mother stand, Merlin waving with a beet red face, and Hunith smiling at the crowd of students. When they sit down, Uther continues the announcements, but Merlin tunes it out, too busy hiding his face in his hands against the table.

But soon enough, the announcements are done, and everyone has been allowed to eat.

“Merlin, right?” Someone asks, as they sit down in front of him. “I’m Gwaine.”

Merlin stares at him, mouth full of food, manners overtaking his desire to respond.

Gwaine continues, a little awkwardly. “I’m new here too. I think we’re roommates? I saw your mom in my room earlier dropping stuff off.”

“Yeah, I was forced to socialise with a blonde prat,” Merlin explains, food finally swallowed.

“I’m assuming you’re talking about Arthur,” Gwaine says, nodding in the said blonde’s direction.

“What gave it away?” He asked, a smirk spreading across his face. “The fact that he’s the headmaster’s son, or that he’s the only student wearing a varsity jacket?”

“It could also be that I ran into him yesterday, and he was the rudest guy I’ve ever met,” Gwaine says back.

“Preach.”

They go back to eating for a few minutes, before Gwaine takes a breath and speaks again.

“So I know you skate and everything,” he starts, “would you be willing to teach me how to skate?”

“Of course,” Merlin answers. “But why?”

“I want to try out for the hockey team,” Gwaine explains. “I know we’re agreed that Arthur sucks, but it sounds like fun.”

“Gross,” Merlin says, but he doesn’t completely mean it. “Hockey skates are way different than figure skates.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no update schedule for this fic so have fun suffering with me


	3. chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> merlin attempts to teach gwaine how to skate. gwaine falls on his ass. a weird bird talks to merlin at three am.

“Ah, Merlin!” Gaius says, as Merlin walks into his office.

The office is one of the smaller ones, but Gaius has managed to fill every available surface with an assortment of plants, books, and paperwork.

However, the only table that isn't covered in plants or papers is occupied by a large bird cage. The bird inside is colorful, and when Merlin locks eyes with it, it makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like “warlock.”

“Hi, Gaius,” he says, turning to look at the man in question instead of the bird.

“Don't mind Kilgharrah. He’s a harmless old bird,” Gaius says, waving a hand dismissively at the bird. “How was your first day of class?”

“It was alright,” Merlin says, as he sits down. “I could've sworn he called me a warlock, though.”

“Kilgharrah is a  _ parrot _ , Merlin. He repeats whatever he hears,” Gaius says, dismissively. “Now, have you put any thought into joining any extracurriculars?”

“Well, there’s not a figure skating team, so, no. My roommate Gwaine asked me to teach him how to skate, though,” the teen says.

“What about the hockey team? It’s not the same as figure, I know, but it would keep you busy,” Gaius suggests. “And, you’re already going to be teaching Gwaine.”

“But Arthur is the captain. I can’t stand him.”

“Just try out, Merlin. It won’t hurt you.”

* * *

Merlin knew that teaching Gwaine to skate would be hard. He didn’t realise how  _ funny _ it would be. Watching his roommate fall on his ass every five minutes is the highlight of his week.

“C’mon, Gwaine, you can do it,” he chirps. “Just stop hanging onto the boards.”

“That’s harder than it sounds, Merlin,” Gwaine says, from his position on the ice, where he fell.

“Just do it like I told you. One foot in front of the other,” he instructs, skating over to help his roommate get back up. “Here, hold my hand.”

They manage to keep Gwaine from falling for the next couple minutes, until the sound of someone jumping the boards distracts them. Merlin keeps a hold of Gwaine, while also looking over at whoever just joined them.

And who else is it than Arthur? Well, Uther. They’re both here. Arthur was the one who jumped the boards, but Uther is resting on them, watching.

Merlin rolls his eyes and looks back at Gwaine, who’s currently doing that thing that new skaters do when they freak themselves out, taking small steps and stepping on the front of the blades too much.

“Level out, Gwaine,” he instructs, gently. “You’ll fall again if you keep stepping on the toe picks.”

Arthur is keeping a respectable distance away from them, even though he’s doing large, lazy circles around where they are at center ice.

“Levelling out is way harder than you make it sound, Merlin,” Gwaine complains.

“But you were great two minutes ago! You’ve got this.”

It takes Gwaine another minute, but eventually he’s straightened out again, off his toe picks. He turns to beam at Merlin, and Merlin smiles back, giving him a thumbs up with his free hand. 

Arthur skates a tighter circle around them. “Have you taught him how to stop yet?”

“No, Arthur, because he’s barely moving as it is.”

“But stopping is the most important skill for beginners to learn.”

“I’d imagine that actually moving would be more important than stopping.”

“I’m right here,” Gwaine says, as if it’ll get the two to stop arguing about him, even as Merlin lets go of him to talk with both hands.

“Not if he’s going to join the hockey team!”

“Who said he was going to join the hockey team? Not everything is about hockey!” Merlin says, and all three of the other people in the barn gasp.

“You take that back,” Arthur says, pointing at the figure skater. 

“No!”

“Uh, Merlin?” Gwaine calls, from where he’s slowly sliding away, balanced in the most ridiculous position to keep from falling. 

“Hockey is the most important sport in the world!”

“Merlin!” Gwaine shouts, trying to get their attention. He’s really close to falling. And, in an effort to straighten himself out, manages to fall on his ass in the most spectacular of ways. “Fuck.”

The loud sound of Gwaine’s fall  _ finally _ distracts Arthur and Merlin from their little tiff, and they both jerk their heads over towards it.

“Oh, shit,” Merlin breathes, as he glides over to Gwaine, reaching out a hand to help him up. He notices seconds later that Arthur has taken Gwaine’s other hand, and, in probably the only time they’re going to do something together, they both work together to pull him back up without falling.

“Merlin, I think I’m done for today,” Gwaine informs him, looking desperately like he wants to be back on solid ground, and not the ice. Merlin silently helps Gwaine back to the benches, untying his skates for him while he drinks the entirety of his water bottle.

“I’ll let you put your shoes back on,” Merlin says, with a small smile. “Make sure to rest your feet, they’ll hurt for a little while if you don’t.”

* * *

Merlin is about to step back on the ice when Uther places his hand on his shoulder.

“Mr. Emrys,” Uther starts, “I’d like to give you a position on the hockey team.”

“Thank you?” Merlin asks. “I don’t know that much about hockey, so I’ll have to think about it.”

“I understand,” Uther says, and Merlin finally steps onto the ice, pausing for a second to breathe.

He moves into doing one of his routines, and it’s obvious that he’s not paying attention to anything else.

Arthur skates up to the headmaster, jumping the boards to give Merlin the whole rink. As he starts taking off his skates, he speaks. “Why did you offer  _ him _ a position on the team, father?”

“The Knights need a helping hand, Arthur. Someone who’s small and fast,” Uther explains. “Merlin is that someone we need.”

“But he doesn’t like hockey! He’s probably never even played before!” Arthur protests, like a five year old.

“We can teach him. He’s going to be the ace in our sleeve.”

* * *

It’s late when Merlin decides he’s not going to get any sleep, so he quietly leaves his room, careful not to wake up Gwaine.

He wanders for a while, before ending up outside Gaius’s office, feeling as if something is pulling him there.

The door is unlocked when he tries it, and he barely questions it as he steps inside.

“Young warlock,” comes a deep voice, and Merlin startles, looking around, thinking he’s been caught, before his eyes land on the birdcage.

“Merlin,” the bird says, and Merlin swears he can hear a smile in his voice. “I was wondering when we would meet again.”

“What are you talking about?” Merlin asks, thoroughly confused, dragging one of Gaius’s chairs over so he can sit.

“Your soul is older than you realise, young warlock. Yours, and the young king’s,” the bird explains. “Your destiny together has been written since the beginning of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote most of this chapter while watching the knights vs. islanders game and i want to physically fight the new york islanders


	4. chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Merlin met Kilgarrah. Gwaine gets his first lesson in how to skate. Uther offers Merlin a spot on the hockey team.

“You know the entire reason we’re going co-ed now is because Morgana pitched a fit,” the Knights’ center, Percy, says, in the break between classes the next morning. “She wanted to go to school with Princey here.”

“Of course I did,” Morgana says, as she passes by the group, the pretty black girl that smiled at Arthur before the welcome back dinner at her side. “And Gwen had to keep me from sneaking out somehow.”

“Gana!” The girl, Gwen, protests. Arthur can’t help but smile a little at the exchange.

Gwen is clearly a freshman, and Arthur, as much as he loathes to admit it, is very fond of his older sister. She drives him absolutely bonkers, and fucks with him constantly, but there’s an equal push-pull between them.

“Don’t worry, Gwen. My sister talks big game, but rarely acts on it,” Arthur tells her. He holds out his hand for her to shake. “I’m Arthur, by the way.”

Gwen takes his hand and shakes it. In the background, Percy’s voice can be heard saying, “Stop it!” but they both ignore it. “Guinevere. Most people call me Gwen, though.”

“Guinevere,” Arthur repeats, testing the way her name feels in his mouth. He decides he likes it. “Welcome to Avalon, Guinevere.”

Gwen smiles at him, and, simultaneously, Morgana and Percy roll their eyes and grab their respective friend, dragging them off in separate directions towards class.

* * *

The end of the day finds our favorite high school hockey team in the barn. It’s the first practice of the year, and Merlin definitely doesn’t look all that happy about it.

“You’ve got this, Merry,” Gwaine says, patting Merlin on the back as he ties his skates. He’s switched his figure skates for a pair of hockey skates, and feels somewhat comfortable on the ice in them, thanks to his practices with Gwaine.

“Thanks, Gwaine. I’m _totally_ confident that this hockey thing isn’t going to leave me with more bruises than I can count,” he says, turning his head and raising his eyebrows at his roommate. “Because no matter how much I practice with you, Prince Prat and his group of jocks won’t slam me into the boards a thousand times.”

“Okay, first of all, this is high school. People are going to be assholes. Second of b, checking isn’t allowed in high school hockey.”

Before Merlin could come up with a reply, a voice on the ice caught their attention. It was Uther, calling all the players down to the ice.

Gwaine patted Merlin on the back, and Merlin joined the rest of the team on the ice.

* * *

For Arthur, being on the ice meant that he was in charge. He got the C last year, after their last captain graduated. It was a unanimous decision, monumental. Never had the Avalon Knights so readily chosen a new captain so quickly.

As Uther called the rest of the team, Arthur did a split, stretching himself out for the practice that’s about to commence.

* * *

“I’m not going to bullshit you boys. This is a momentous season. Arthur’s got the C. We’re welcoming a decorated figure skater.” Uther turns to said figure skater, just as he trips over the boards. What a dumbass.

Uther sighs, closing his eyes and bringing his hand to his face.

“ _Mer-lin_.” Arthur says, pulling himself out of his split. “Try not to be a complete dunce.”

Merlin flips him off from his position, back on the ice, legs up against the boards.

Recovering, Uther turns to the rest of the team. “Anyways. We’re required to appoint an A. Leon, here.”

He hands Leon, the team’s centre, the “A” patch.

“Thanks, Coach,” he says, as he takes it.

“Now, practice. I need to know what position Merlin will fit best.”

* * *

Truthfully, Merlin felt like he’d rather be anywhere else than the barn right now. He’s had at least sixteen thousand pucks flicked at him, he’s run into the boards more times than he can count, and he’s definitely going to be bruised purple in an hour or two.

He spent the first half hour standing next to Uther, getting a quick rundown on all the positions and a couple of the basic plays. Uther also explained that the team already had most of the positions filled, except for right defenseman and goalie.

The twenty minutes after that was spent getting him better acquainted with finer turns, the one thing he hadn’t gotten to practice yet since switching skates.

And the last forty-five minutes? Spent in the crease, trying his hardest to avoid the pucks flying at his face. It must be some kind of cruel joke, Uther getting back at him for tripping over the boards before practice started.

It feels like with every puck to an unprotected, soft spot on his body, Arthur and his friends are getting more and more enjoyment out of the whole exercise. He’s going to _fucking obliterate_ the prat when he next got a chance.

The torture finally ends, though, when Gwaine, of all people, calls Uther over and gives him a stern talking to--politely tells him that Merlin’s had enough.

“Arthur, that’s enough,” comes Uther’s booming voice, and Merlin nearly collapses onto the ice in relief. “I know where Merlin will work best. Someone else will fill the goalie position.”

It takes everyone a moment, before they remember.

“ _Merlin’s_ my new partner!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi im not dead! i haven't hit castaway status and my writer's block finally seems to be going away. how's your 2019 going so far?
> 
> also any mistakes is because i'm too tired to go through ao3's janky rich text editor and i long to just turn my laptop off and go to sleep


	5. chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> merlin dreams. uther announces a new school event. arthur gets asked out. merlin dreams some more.

_All he can hear is the sound of his own breath, heaving in and out of his lungs. His magic is a familiar tingle rattling his bones, and when he looks back, the only thing he can see is bodies, the crimson blood staining the ground beneath them._

_There’s one thought in his head, one man, weilding a sword, red cape fluttering behind him as he fights for his life, the lives of all his knights, and, most importantly, the lives of all of the citizens of Camelot._

_As it is, this man is currently nowhere to be found._

_In a desperate haze, he calls out for him._

* * *

_He’s been found. Arthur. The King of Camelot. Stabbed to death by an enemy soldier._

_Merlin is cradling him in his arms. Tears are streaming down both of their faces._

_“I love you,” Arthur whispers, with the last of his breath._

_Merlin blinks, and the man is gone._

* * *

_Merlin blinks, and he’s watching Arthur be coronated. His father, King Uther, passed away several days ago._

_Though Merlin did all he could - disguised as an older version of himself - he couldn’t save the dying king. It wasn’t his fault, he’d discover later, but the fault of Arthur’s older half-sister, Morgana._

_Arthur turns on the red carpet rolled out before the throne, and from Merlin’s position in the crowd mere feet away from him, he can see that his smile, though nearly blinding, doesn’t quite reach his eyes._

_Later, once Arthur and Merlin are alone in his new chambers, the newly crowned king will be crying into his lover’s shoulder._

_He hadn’t gotten the chance to mourn privately. It wasn’t until they were alone that the fact his father was truly dead finally sank in._

_“I love you,” says the King, against Merlin’s shoulder._

* * *

_When he blinks again, he’s sat at a round table in a dusty old castle, surrounded by people he doesn’t recognise. The one man he does recognise? Arthur._

_Arthur is looking at him like he’s the only person in the room. Merlin can’t help but notice the slight blush dusting his fair cheeks, the soft smile just for him._

_“I love you,” he mouths._

* * *

_They’re in the middle of fighting off a group of awfully rowdy tavern patrons when Merlin hears the words. Arthur is trying not to let the man he’s facing off against hear, and it seems like he doesn’t._

_“If we don’t make it out of here alive, know that I love you,” comes Arthur’s voice in his ear, breathless from the punch that knocked him into Merlin._

_A handsome man with long hair joins them in fighting off the other patrons, and Merlin couldn’t forget about the sound of the prince’s voice even if he tried._

* * *

_“I love you,” says the Prince, turned towards Merlin in his sleeping bag._

_They’re in a barely lit cave, protected against all ills by the man they’ve come to seek, the last of the Dragonlords. Merlin’s father._

_Merlin has yet to inherit the power of the Dragonlords, has yet to hold his father’s dying body in his arms, has yet to understand the pain and loss that comes with losing a parent._

_What he knows now, however, is that the Prince of Camelot loves him, and while the ground is uncomfortable, he doesn’t want to be anywhere else._

* * *

“Hey, it’s Merlin!”

Arthur wraps an arm around the figure skater’s shoulders before he has a chance to escape, and pulls him close, roughly. “C’mon, since you’re on the team now, you’re sitting with us!”

Gwaine shoots him a questioning look, and in return he gets a helpless glance. Gwaine shrugs, and just follows them.

Percy spots him, and Gwaine nearly immediately falls in love, if the doe-eyed expression Merlin sees on his face is any indication.

Then again, Merlin’s distracted as it is. Every time Arthur looks at him from across the table, all he can see is the older version whispering “I love you.” It’s very inconvenient.

Especially because Arthur just. Keeps looking at him. Even when the professors parade in, and Uther stands to make a speech.

“Students, I would like to make an announcement,” says the headmaster, while Arthur continues to stare at Merlin as he’s trying to pay attention. “I know we’re finally getting into the swing of things, and since we are, I’d like to announce that for the first time ever, the Avalon School will host it’s very first Winter Formal the first week of November. Now, as it’s only the third week of September, this means that there will be a lot of planning involved. If you would like to join the planning committee, Professor Alice has a sign-up sheet you can sign after breakfast.”

He sits down shortly after leading the school through the rest of the normal morning things, and then the hall is back to normal. AKA, Em didn’t want to think about what “normal morning things” at a private boarding school means. I went to public school, okay?

* * *

“Did you just say ‘yeet’ when you shot the puck?” Merlin asks of his d-man partner, later after school. “Are you _haunted?_ Are you fucking _possessed?_ ”

It’s a chilly September day in the barn, and the team has been practicing drills the entire afternoon. It’s an exercise to get the newest team members used to the plays Uther likes them to utilise.

“You used to be my _d-partner!_ ” Merlin says, but he’s honestly laughing. Arthur is giving him the most betrayed look ever.

“Do you want me to blast you? Do you want me to put you on blast?” Gwaine shouts, from where he’s watching from the boards. You can’t live with Merlin and not end up becoming a fan of the stupid shit he watches. “I’ve got your history right here in my Watch Later.”

Merlin points at Gwaine, with a big dumb smile on his face, and Arthur looks towards Percy, nearby on the ice. Percy shrugs, completely unaware of the reference.

* * *

“Arthur,” Gwen asks, at breakfast a week later. “I know it’s a bit, well, unorthodox, but do you want to go to the Winter Formal with me?”

It was a surprise, to say the least, when she walked over, Morgana encouraging her. It was even more of a surprise when Arthur turned to smile at her, a smile Merlin had only ever seen in his dreams, and aimed at him.

“Of course I would, Guinevere,” he agrees, and kisses her hand when she lowers it from her chest.

Gwen’s cheeks darken a bit with a deep red, and she beams. In Arthur’s mind, it’s like looking into the sun, he’s so enamoured.

* * *

_“He will know you in time, young warlock,” says the gravelly voice of the dragon, when Merlin, unable to sleep, finds his way into his cave prison. “Soon enough, he will understand that you are the most important person in his life.”_

_“I would hope it’d be sooner, rather than later,” comes a voice Merlin hardly recognises, pointedly his, but deeper, with a noticeably thicker Welsh accent. “I’m sick of mucking out his horses and hiding around corners so he doesn’t see me saving his life with a spell.”_

_Kilgharrah laughs. “Some things may never change.”_

* * *

_“I love you,” Merlin whispers to the Prince, long after he’s fallen asleep. He’s just about to leave for the night, curl into his own bed at Gaius’s, and dream of days when he’ll no longer have to be an errand boy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let's play a game of spot the reference! ten brownie points to whoever can find one.

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up @oswiniarty on tumblr if you want to talk to me!
> 
> also yeah i'm wildly aware that there's an actual professional hockey team (that i'm a fan of!) called the knights!


End file.
